Heavy Gear- Raptor's Duel
by Raptors
Summary: This is totally Mary-Sue (i do warn you) A northern fighter challanges the dragons with a unbeatable gear -not finished


Heavy Gear- Raptor's Duel  
  
Author's Note: This is based on the show heavy gear, although I have some dislike to the show I based it primarily because I love the gears and I wanted to make my own character. I apologise for some readers if the content in here is misleading to the heavy gear world, but I am only making this story to the best of my knowledge of the show. This is not completed however, it is just a start to what is to come…enjoy.  
  
By the way this story has a lot of Mary-Sue in it so be warned!  
  
The Eagleblade is not only unique in its own right, but has more advanced abilities than any other gear on the planet and has the benefit of being a multipurpose gear and primarily used for special operations, which can adapt to any environment and can perform abilities that no other gear pilot has ever dreamed. Equipped with two powerful engines and plated in the hardest and rarest substance in the whole galaxy, this gear can take more hits than all the gears combined due to the composite Trinium and Armoplast, which can absorb huge amounts of damage in combat. The gear is also unique for its ability to fly; armed with a pair of Trinium wings and a thruster system to allow it to hover or soar at will, where the gear can use its laser guided bombs or Laser, Photon wing guns to defeat the enemy. The latest in weaponry is photon technology, which is completely new and is only available to one gear produced by the North Guard which was hard to find the technology itself but its chemical property allows for it to heal instead of needing spare parts to replace. This flight ability allows it to reach speeds of more than four hundred kilometres per hour, giving it an aerial advantage to all gears. Its powerful engines and its versatile wheels allow it to become a super fast gear at two hundred kilometres per hour at least 6 times faster than the speediest gears ever created. Added by the lightness of the Trinium armour and its superior speed, this gear can use lightning fast attacks on any gear, defeating it before they have a chance to return fire. Although it is heavy enough to withstand being knocked over, its shear structural strength supported by its complete balance allows it to compete against the best gears.  
  
The gear, being used for special forces, must rely on its superior electronic systems and added features to survive in battle, being fitted with a more advanced stealth and repair system, longer and sharper vision, a blending system, communication and reconnaissance systems, a aquatic and space adaption mode and variety of visions such as night vision and infra- red. Its whole structure is designed to move every part of its body freely and allows it to become agile, manoeuvrable, sleek and slender and also can make the gear superior in close combat where it can easily perform martial arts moves to tackle opponents. If that wasn't enough, then the gear if in near defeat will activate its last stance mode where it goes beserk and under extreme co-ordination can damage a fully strengthened gear in seconds. It can also activate a force field shield around itself, which is impossible to bring down and will last for days if needed.  
  
The gear posses the best special weapons in the universe, including a long metal tail with a sharp blade at the end that could slice through armour in no effort and acts as a natural weapon in case of close combat attempts. Usually on its thighs is two Rifles, each laser pointed, automatic with attached grenade launcher and can deal huge amounts of damage since the bullets used are deadly to armour and contain tiny percentages of electrical components which after several shots can shut down a gear permanately, firing its neural net and every electronic component. The add more to its close combat superiority is a set of retractable diamond blades on each wrist, which is the signature for this gear, since these blades  
  
Are made from a unbreakable metal unknown to mankind, and slices through gears in no time. The blade on the tip of the tail is made from the same material and is the only gear to posses this metal. The gear also has a long Trinium sword but rarely uses this in battle.  
  
The gear also has laser guided rockets at its deposal at its shoulder where a shoulder pod is placed. These missiles are unique because they almost never miss their target and if the enemy tries to place the gear in a different environment where laser guided rockets are useless then the rockets can seek a targeted enemy and follow it till it hits the enemy instantly and can't hit its owner. The last weapon at its deposal and indeed a power weapon is its photon shoulder cannon which fires at a normal rate and never runs out of ammo since it's chemical properties don't allow for it to use up ammunition. The gear also has a grappling hook and its feet can stick to ceilings which allow it to move around unseen.  
  
This is indeed the best gear ever, not only is it a benefit to the special forces, but it provides a great new taste in superior and perhaps unfare competition where it has weapons, speed, flight, movement and advanced technology at its arsenal. The gear was created by a intelligent organization of engineers on a booming technological planet in the far depths of space. It was given to a North Guard Hero who visited the planet and saved it many times from Earth forces. When this hero returned there was a silent celebration at the Northern city in Terra Nova, and the President was absolutely amazed at its power and ordered for it to be constructed in millions but the hero said that only one was capable of being made because the metal cannot be found anywhere, the gear itself takes millions of centuries to make and left the Northern leader in disappointment as the Northern Hero returned to his home in a lush village.  
  
The hero had brought up a family, improved the well being of the villagers and became famous once again to the people. But this hero had to return to his ultimate destiny when a massive Meteorite larger than Terra Nova was near to impact and a larger alien craft had threatened to destroy the planet. For both North and South of Terra Nova, Earth and the lives of trillions of alien races and human colonies, this hero sacrificed his life for everyone and destroyed the meteorite and the alien warship.  
  
Ten years had passed since this historic event and the hero's son Sarquil Raptor, a strong fighter, a brilliant tactician and a educated young man had grown up with the stories of his father, and in the start he tried to understand his father's motives, perhaps he had his father's blood because he soon became interested in gears. Although he was scarred from his father's death at nine, he was brought up in the militaristic and proud Northern States, where he was bred to hate the south but he really had no interest in the war at his earlier life as he spent many years in depression and after blocking his fears behind him, he moved on in life even though he was struck by his father's fate and some people snickered behind his back, saying things like he is in his father's footsteps and will be magnificent just like him.  
  
The boy had eagle eyes, taloned feet and a tail and if it weren't for his relation to his father he would have been totally terrorised by the hatred, but he found that the people admired his looks and were impressed by his father's decision to halt the operation and give his son a better physical adaption that not many humans could enjoy.  
  
The boy was supported by his mother all the way, through his depression and he proved a champion street fighter at local matches and a martial arts expert. Because of the huge relationship between his family and the royal North family and the Generals of the fleet, he was trained by them to not hate the south as he had expected but to grow strong in himself and to learn the art of war.  
  
At fifteen he decided to join the North Marines after graduating from university and worked well in a team and proved to much to handle when he successfully destroyed a major Southern fuel depot and several fire-support bases. Because of the high political and military support the boy was placed in charge of a special forces team, where using guerrilla warfare tactics and other strategies he came a natural enemy to the South since his success against the south in special forces was his best natural talent. He even decided to take charge of the first gear special forces and led his teams to numerous success and also failure because the gears were not designed for special operations that the North required and he returned to his home as a Captain at such a young age. He came home by a Northern helicopter and came back to the village from where he came from. The villages celebrated the return of their new young hero and he spent weeks helping the villages with a helping hand, setting out crops, hunting animals, protecting the environment and setting up the village festival. But soon afterwards he became depressed, and spent his time at home watching TV. One day however when he changed the news from the war to the professional tournaments where teams of gears went duel to duel against each other was widely popular and his observation in the town showed its interest in the sport despite his lack of understanding. Apparently a ace gear pilot called Major Wallace was the leader of a Northern fighting force called the Northern Vanguard and was ultimately beaten by a Southern duel force called the Shadow Dragons. The boy paid some attention to the strategies used by each force and he could almost immediately see each sides weak points but it just hadn't come to his grasp of understanding yet. One night, after sitting by his pool watching the stars, he suddenly noticed a wrentched looking barn, with bolted down doors and the grass around it hadn't been cut for years.  
  
The boy ran towards the barn, attempted to open the old barn doors and failed, then brought a blowtorch and cut the metal barriers and slammed open the doors. With great anticipation he swung open the doors and with great disappointment he found nothing. It was completely empty.  
  
The next few days he sat at night looking at the barn, wondering what he could do with it, although his ideas weren't very encouraging and he knew that burning it down wouldn't help the neighbours sleep if the fire spread to their front porches. He went to the barn again, not expecting anything, and still found it completely empty. He walked inside and looked around at the frame of the barn, looking straight up until he bonked into something.  
  
The boy looked down and saw nothing and with curiosity he put his hand out and touched a invisible surface. It felt cool and smooth and he immediately recognised it as a cloaked machine, even though that was a strange assumption since the latest attempts to cloak any object had always shown their outer shape and a almost mirror faced surface, easily detectible. But not this object, this was something totally different since you could see right through it.  
  
Touching the surface with his hands he managed to find a foothold and climbed on top of the invisible structure.  
  
"M father must have built this thing, then that means it must have a activation code or something, hmmm…destiny, conquest, victory, north, royal, arghh! That's not it!" the boy complained and spent all night saying words that would trigger the activation code.  
  
In the crack of dawn, in almost failure he said the words Eternal Warrior, the last words of his father and finally something happened when the cloaking field turned off and he jumped in fright as he landed on the ground. As he rose he saw the huge gear and its magnificent appearance.  
  
It was a professional gear alright, its armoured body showed the morning sun shine from its powerful structure and coat. It had a blend of grey, silver and gold trimmings all across its body. Its strong balanced feet supported the firm torso and the long metal tail wrapped around its leg, with a sharp looking blade the size of a desk. There were other parts of the gear that had blue marks. The armour was balanced all round and had a brand new design than what he had ever seen in reports. The shape and the engine was new and better improved than all models, and its wheel system looked protected. The head was not normal however since it had a beak shape and supported by two golden eyes which looked like it had its own emotion in the way it could move them and also had medium blue ears which were essentially the main communication system. On its left shoulder was a rocket pod, which was small and yet had forty eight missiles encased and on the other shoulder was a gun of powerful design with its dark features such as the smooth curve of a blade at its rear and the opening of the gun itself. Both thighs held a rifle with a attached grenade launcher and looked very advanced in design and purpose. The machine opened sideways, abnormal since all gears opened upwards with the head tilting back, but with this gear the metal simply melted into the gear sideways and the beaked head remained positioned on top.  
  
Inside looked cosy with a comfortable chair, a variety of internal controls and computer screens and panels on the side. The boy looked so excited in his life and realised that his dad had left it for him to compete in duel competitions since his father knew that his son would become a great champion one day.  
  
Racing back to his house, leaving the discovered gear alone as he stormed into the house, warned his mum and then rung his friendly companions of the North Royal Family, who were disappointed in his decision to become a duelist and motioned for him to join the Vanguard under Major Wallace's command and after informing his friends and special forces, he heard military airships dropping from the skies and descending on top of the area. After a week of organising his departure he was finally accepted and Sarquil returned to the barn with the arrival of engineers and troops as soon as he asked for them. He watched the gear being placed inside the airship and the last thing he saw of it was the letters across the front of the Gear with its dark grey wing pattern imprinted on it. The letters read Raptor in gold writing on the top, and he named the gear Eagleblade.  
  
The badlands was mostly confined to dessert landscape including the rare finding of a tropical growing sector of which was not common to find on the ground. The Airship was moving to fast to see the ground clearly anyway, and Sarquil moved to the bridge of the ship where the commander introduced the captain to the rest of the crew. As he was toured around the ship, there was an announcement on the pa about the ship entering the destination. The boy raced back to the bridge where he could spot a deep mountainous canyon, several fig trees and a lot of metal structures positioned for strategic purposes.  
  
The Airship made a landing on a plateau outcroft, despite its flat surface, and almost immediately a group of gears were stationed around the landing. From the bridge's viewscreen they looked exactly like the North Vanguard on TV and he would finally meet the former champion gear himself.  
  
"That's Major Wallace sir, he's had a upgrade to his gear design," said the commander pointing at the gold and red gear with horns on its head and a bulky yet powerful look.  
  
The rest looked like fighters, one was pink, another two were red and yellow and the last one was partially blue and orange and was the support gear of the Vanguard.  
  
"They look much different from the television," commented Sarquil, "But I'll have to face them by myself, I'll be going now bye," thanked Sarquil as he said his goodbyes to the commander of the airship and then walked out the bridge doors.  
  
He then proceeded towards the cargo hold and felt the airship land with a thud and after venturing through catwalks and walkways he came at the door. It requested a id card and he identified it and then the doors slowly opened revealing the cargo hold, its hangar door, a few scattered crates and my gear which was held by locks. I told one of the engineers working in the hangar to unlock the metal devices and he did so quickly and I thanked him and went up to my gear, which resumed its powerful appearance and mysterious potential behind that armour plating. I pushed my foot onto its knee as had done in the barn and the hatch opened in its weird way of melting away into the actual gear itself. I climbed into the seat which was very comfortable and I felt like sleeping in it at the time since it was so warm and cosy. I turned on a few switches, having no idea what they did and the primary engine must have been turned on as it began to hum silently, noticing the feet controls that I placed my feet in and I felt the whole body section of my gear, the overwhelming power it contained and yet it seemed like it was patient for me to start just like my father. Although I doubt my dad had anything to do with the creation of the machine, it seemed to have a emotional side that understood me. In my seat I felt tall as I sat back and observed the power of my being. I was already wearing military gear uniform of the special forces with my proud captain rank shown and I found a helmet similar to that worn by Earth air force back in its twentieth century despite it still being popular to the military. It was the dark grey, the mouth voice speaker and had other gadgets inside which helped me have a neural connection with the gear. Delighted with myself I held onto the control sticks with both hands and I felt the strength of the arms go through me as I moved each individual finger then moved the actual arms itself and noticed how easy it was for it to move around but there was one problem with me going to the tournament fight.  
  
I didn't know how to use gears.  
  
I closed the hatch, which almost magically appeared by forming into a metal sheet in front of me, closing me off from outside. Then suddenly all at once the walls in front and beside me became a entire view screen with perfect vision as good as mine in fact and that was a major contrast to any gear because they only got a small view screen to see through their gear. This new gear view would allow me to see everything happening around me at once. There was the screens below my waist which showed information I didn't understand and also had different things on my view screen such as targeting, detection, radar, the status of my gear and more info which I would have to investigate later on. But first off, my walking.  
  
With my incredible control of my gear, I stepped forward and gently landed on the ground while easily bring my other foot forward. I soon felt relaxed as I thought I had the hang of things when the next few steps resulted in me falling over but because of my instincts I did a commando roll and flipped back on my feet.  
  
"Let's not do that again," I mumbled and walked steadily until I reached the hangar doors, and using my arms as if they were my own except bigger and stronger and more flexible, I flicked a large switch and a loud humming was generated from the doors folding outwards revealing the light which was bright at first but my eyes adjusted in seconds. With my hands on my hips I saw the huddled group of gears facing me, and I felt almost relieved that I wasn't short at all, in fact I was the second tallest in the group by comparison.  
  
"What in the heck is that!" said a growling voice with astounishment.  
  
"It's amazing, look at its structure, but we'll have to see what it's like in combat especially against those punks," said a firm female voice.  
  
"Indeed, look at it's face though have you ever seen a gear with two eyes and a mouth?"  
  
"No one has, according to the North Army this gear is from another planet and may prove useful if it passes the test."  
  
I released my arms from my hips and walked casually down the ramp and stepped up to the group of gears. When I approached them, I turned around quickly showing my back and stopped. Because the gears hatches were not open it was hard to get an understanding of how they showed their emotions. However, my gear showed a slight grin through its beak.  
  
The tall golden red gear stepped up to me, "I am Major Wallace, leader of the Vanguard, identify yourself."  
  
I responded through the comm system, which was as easy as talking normally, "I am Sarquil Raptor, Captain of Special Forces, I am here to win in the tournaments and to prove North superiority to the South."  
  
"Hmm I like your spirit captain, perhaps you'll make a good ace yourself with that attitude, come we have a tournament tomorrow and must decide on a plan of attack against our foes the Shadow Dragons," Wallace stated and the group began to turn away as they walked across the desert.  
  
The Airship quickly rose from the ground and swept forward at lightning speed through the sky, leaving me abandoned with this group of gear pilots. I saw them walking away and I tried to follow them which wasn't hard since I had to walk fast to keep up. To my delight, I fell over a few times and eventually the pink gear turned around and spoke to me as I got up.  
  
"Hehehe, don't tell me the captain can't control his gear, or don't you know how?"  
  
"Um, I sort of do but this is a totally new gear so it's taking a while to get used to," I responded weakly.  
  
"Hah, it doesn't require any effort to walk, do you know how to at least roll?" she asked me.  
  
I knew what rolling was but had never used the mechanical force to cause a gear's secondary movement to be iniated.  
  
"Well?"  
  
"Uh, no," I said simply.  
  
"Geez what do you know," she grumbled and zoomed off as she engaged her wheel system on her feet and raced to the others far ahead who had been rolling as well. In an attempt to catch up I focussed my thoughts on my wheels and suddenly my feet were adjusted to a wheel movement, which I was adapted to and without hesitation I raced past all the other vanguard and after the pink gear with no effort at all and was racing beside her.  
  
"Aghh! Where did you come from! How did you catch up to me, how are you meeting my top speed?" She complained.  
  
"Easy, I'm best with this kind of movement, its similar to a motor bike, and the reason why I can catch up to you is that my gear is faster," I explained.  
  
"What! I've got a Cheetah MK2 type model, that's the fastest model in Terra Nova!" she wailed and I smiled and raced past her, passing over a hundred kilometres per hour, turned and waited till the rest of the Vanguard could catch up. When they did I pointed at a distant city and a servicing field base down below in the valley.  
  
"Is that our base, inclining my head towards the service base, which had a silvery look as its shape curved around the entrance and in the middle of the walled base were roofed bunkers and a few store houses.  
  
"That's correct, let's go down there and prepare for our tournament tomorrow," Wallace commanded and we followed him down a flight of rock stairs till we reached the flat ground at the bottom of the valley.  
  
We continued to drive another few kilometres until we reached the base, which was much larger than from seen above since its height was outclassed by the store houses, the thick walls and the huge guns on the bases posts. The base was not empty however as Northern troops guarded every tower and opened the gates at the base entrance for us. We drove into the courtyard and stopped at a shelter and their gears began to open upwards, the robot heads tilting back and revealing the pilots.  
  
The pink gear pilot had a Japanese style hairstyle and looked pretty rough, whereas there was a old pilot, a young looking man, a strange looking fellow with a awefull haircut and Major Wallace with his crew cut hair all stepped out of their gears and waited for me to exit mine. I shut down my gear and the visual display left, which was a weird feeling since it felt like you were losing more sight than what humans usually had. The entire metal in front of me, shimmered into my gear and I was greeted by the outside and saw the amazed faces from the vanguard. I got out of my chair and climbed down my gear and stepped onto the ground, my tail swinging behind me and my talons clicked on the ground.  
  
"What?" I asked the group who were eye-balled at my features and at my gear's ability to meld metal into itself.  
  
"How does your gear do that metal disappearing trick?" Wallace demanded.  
  
"Oh that, well I don't know either its just something more advanced than any gear opening system I know of, and me well during a fatal operation, the Northern Royal family decided to save my life and give me more advanced human qualities by giving a tail, super vision and talons," I explained.  
  
"I see, well this is Yoji, Serge, Sergeant Grooze and Rank, you better get good kid otherwise your out," Wallace introduced his team then told me to prove myself.  
  
"Well could I at least practice my gear's potential out in the desert?" I asked the Major and it didn't take him long to come up with an answer.  
  
"Why not, Yoji, Serge, Grooze come with me and Raptor to the desert flatlands where we will test his gear's abilities," Wallace ordered and we had a quick drink, then returned to our gears and started moving out.  
  
I was still having trouble walking, and so I enabled my rollers and headed towards the desert with the other vanguard. We reached a remote orange desert plain, which was perfectly suitable for my training. Serge and Grooze took positions around a circular perimeter and Yoji and Wallace stood together, with Yoji's cockpit opened and she carried a speed tracker in her hand.  
  
"Raptor start racing in a wide circular movement, we will track your speed accordingly," allace instructored.  
  
"Yes sir," I replied and without hesitation I broke off and started to race away in a wide circular track, but I really didn't need to be tracked since I was capable of seeing my speed anyway. The first lap was at a constant eighty km per hour and I accelerated to one hundred until I felt my primary engine burst with more energy as it suddenly increased my rolling speed to one hundred and fifty, a outstanding record.  
  
After ten quick laps I stopped instantly in front of Yoji and Wallace, who looked impressed.  
  
"Good work, you reached a amazing speed of one hundred and fifty," Yoji reported.  
  
"Now we will see how agile you are at dodging Serge and Grooze and me, as we will first try and test your mobility then try your strategy of evading gunfire and missiles," Wallace said and I nodded and reversed backwards until I was in centre of the three gears.  
  
"Let's begin," Wallace commanded and I could see all three gears racing at me, with guns ready, but as they came to mers from me I used my speed and agility to swing left and dodge a incoming Serge, then moved forward until I turned and missed a incoming missile with so much ease. I could see Grooze come from behind me and I turned and tripped him over with my tail, then high tailed off at Wallace who was directly in front of me, firing all the missiles at me and every one I dodged or ducked from and came right at him with a cutting edge as I shoulder barged him, knocking him over.  
  
"Sorry sir," I said and I could almost feel his surprise.  
  
He got up quickly and pursued after me, firing rockets at me but missed and the other two gears were having trouble targeting me since I was too fast for them and too agile to dodge every pursuing rocket directed at me.  
  
"That's enough Raptor, you have greatly improved and your asset will be rewarded when we crush the dragons," Wallace stated, "Let's go home."  
  
On the way back, I was trying to investigate on the options my gear offered, one of which was a pair of extremely strong and light wrist blades that I snapped in place after trying something with my arms and suddenly I have these sharp wrist blades in my possession, which would hopefully increase my chances of winning in a close combat situation.  
  
I retracted my blades as we came into the base and established our gears under shelter then shut them down and climbed out where we headed to a bench nearby and had a quick drink and meal before discussing tomorrow's event, although most of them just talked improper about the dragons and I asked the Major what they were like. He said that they were a determined group with the help of a young kid just like me, who happens to have a talent for gears and strategic movement. The dragons always defeat the vanguard because their teamwork is much greater and their morale is higher to boost their performance. I analysed what he said and took that into account, then continued to finish my meal. I didn't talk afterwards since I didn't feel very confident that I will do well tomorrow.  
  
I slept well last night, thinking about my performance today and how well can I prove myself to the vanguard team. Getting out of my bunk, taking a shower and dressing into my brand new Gear outfit, the exact one my father wore when he became a Gear champion. Perhaps I will receive the same luck he had when wearing this outfit. I stepped out of my cabin, stroking the back of my head noticing that everyone else was still asleep. I grinned, and walked to the shelter that I had placed my gear under.  
  
I found my gear in its standing position, just as I had left it, its metal tail coiled around its right leg, and its eyes were completely shut as if it was asleep. I stood there for a minute and realised just how fortunate I was to own such a unique machine, the only of its kind. I stepped up and climbed inside the hatch, turning the systems online and viewing some of the display panels some of which I was just learning to understand and interpret. The metal plate wrapped around the hatch and the room was instantly littered with the amazing visual display.  
  
I felt the engine burn with life as I now controlled the gear's movements and abilities. I snapped my wrist blades out of my robot wrists and observed their shape and texture. They were made from a unknown metal as I scanned it and on the little computer panel in front of me it showed me that the metal was unbreakable and the strongest metal in known space. My tail blade was also made from the same material. From the base, they were straight then another straight blade was set on top ending in a sharp point. It was strikingly beautiful as you got a closer look, since its whole structure contained a rythmic pattern imprinted all over its design. I could see why the gear was called the Eagleblade.  
  
I practiced my wrist blade action as I thrust my arms forward, ducking and backing off to perform different ways to attack an enemy with my wrist blades and my tail. I spent an hour perfecting my technique and trained my fluid movement to adjust to my slender martial arts abilities and to my amazement I was capable of doing almost anything with my gear since I could move my arms and legs so smoothly. I was even able to do rolls and flips elegantly and efficiently.  
  
"What you doing?" asked Yoji, stepping up to my gear, which I immediately towered over her.  
  
"Training," I replied simply.  
  
"Well you'll need it for punking those punks," Yoji said enthusiastically.  
  
I ignored her comments and continued my training, but I did notice her go off and climb into her pink gear, roll out, holding a long metal axe and faced me. I immediately faced her and she seemed eager to test my skills.  
  
"You want to test your skills try dodging this!" She stated and threw the long zxe at me at fast velocity.  
  
When the axe came in range, I instantly brought my tail around and swiped at the incoming axe, breaking it in two pieces, which fell to the ground and shattered. My tail blade glimmered in the sunlight with its silvery colour reflecting its sharpness.  
  
"Whoa!" Yoji exclaimed, "Your good."  
  
"Thankyou," I replied and saw the other vanguard climb into their gears and walk towards us two.  
  
"This is it vanguard, we will crush the dragons, once and for all," Wallace stated and the team was uplifted in glory.  
  
"Let's move out team," Wallace insisted and we all rolled out of the base, following Wallace through the canyons, up a flight of rock stairs and to the distant city I spotted earlier.  
  
Orlem city, as Wallace explained, rested on the surface of a canyon valley and was known for its huge tunnel systems used during the great wars. When we approached the city, we discovered that there were huge numbers of people working at the markets.  
  
"Ok Vanguard, you can break off at this point but remember to meet in one hour to enter the tournament, I'll go and find out what is involved," Wallace explained and rolled off towards the huge tournament ring, which I was impressed by. We then broke off and had a look around, but I stayed put, marvelled at the arena's shape, knowing what lied behind those walls was my future.  
  
My sensors beeped madly when it detected a enemy gear coming out of one of the streets, and fortunately I had not been seen as I hid behind a corner, using my long range sensors to show a image of my enemy coming down the street.  
  
It was a blue gear with two round rocket pods on its shoulders, and it was cheered by the people as it walked past, but then it stopped looking straight at me, but actually saw my shadow.  
  
"Hey who is there?" said the blue gear, bringing out its auto pistol.  
  
I quickly rolled down a different street and I could feel the blue gear automatically try and chase me but I was too quick for it to actually see me. I raced to another corner and did something that amazed my attitude towards my own abilities. As I was coming round the corner I could spot a catwalk up ahead about thirty meters away and fifty meters high. I reached my top speed and as I was just coming under the catwalk I hit the wall sideways and with enough velocity I raced upwards and hit the catwalk connection and back flipped in the air and landed safely on the ground and drove off down the street. It was quite a marvellous aerodynamic stunt, which was probably impossible except for this gear to accomplish.  
  
I reached a intersection where I got a transmission from Serge, and I patched it up on the visual screen.  
  
"What is it Serge?" I asked.  
  
"Meet up at these locations, we're going into the arena," Serge reported and a grid reference came up on the screen, followed by a actual location on the small panel in front of me.  
  
"Roger that, I'll be there," I replied and the link was shut off.  
  
The location was not far and I drove through a couple of streets and bends to reach my designated area to meet. Everyone else was there but I was not late, and Wallace explained that the tournament was broken in three phases today, the first being a free for all tournament, the second a capture the flag match and thirdly a tunnel race. They each seemed exciting and we headed towards the arena after our briefing.  
  
When we arrived at the arena, we issued ourselves into the computer database and entered the supply room until it was time to enter the arena complex itself. We approached the arena by a nearby ramp leading up to a opening, and we could hear the uproar of the crowd, which was huge since there were a lot of people and that made the sound almost deafening.  
  
We reached the top of a platform, overlooking the arena, seeing that there was a ramp leading into the arena itself. It kept myself behind Wallace and Grooze, hoping that I wouldn't be seen that much. My blood was beginning to get nervous and I found it hard to think of what to do. On the opposite side of the arena I could see another platform and on top was a different group of gears including the blue gear I had run from earlier. The announcer began speaking and I personally didn't like his voice because it sounded over-excited and annoying.  
  
"The Dragons versus the Vanguard in this three part tournament, where this match will be a free for all, and with a new member to the vanguard this should be interesting," the announcer said enthusiastically.  
  
With the crowd still cheering, Wallace noticed me and pushed me to the front of the group where I stood dead still since I got stage fight as its called and I was very nervous at this point. I looked straight at the Dragons and amazingly my advanced sensors could pick up their conversations.  
  
"Wow look at that gear, it's got a tail too,"  
  
"I sense some negative waves man, he doesn't look good,"  
  
"Hey the gear pilot is called Raptor, you ever heard of him?"  
  
"No, must be a new vanguard filth, he'll be taken down easily like the rest of the dogs."  
  
"Whatever he is, keep on alert, let's take these dogs down for good as always."  
  
From what I heard from the Dragons was enough to make me curious about them, but it appeared that there was still some northern hatred amongst them, but I figured that they were mostly thugs that need to be defeated in gear combat. Perhaps I would prove otherwise.  
  
"Let's start the battle!" The announcer exclaimed and the edgy yet impulsive vanguard gears stormed past me, shoving to get to the bottom of the ramp and immediately brought out their guns and fired towards the Dragons. From what I could see, the arena was nicely placed with the odd barrier or obscure structure to help both sides use some creative thinking and strategy.  
  
"Vanguard equals victory!" I heard Wallace shout his war cry as he and Yoji took positions at a rock barrier, holding off three Dragons. Serge and Grooze took flank on both sides and Rank was positioned in the middle with Wallace. I could almost see a defensive position being played by the vanguard but the dragons seemed to take on the offensive.  
  
"Rank, support Serge, he's under heavy fire," I ordered showing some command under my rank of authority.  
  
"No way! Those snakes have pushed this too far!" Rank replied and without confirmation he stepped further into the fire-fight, attacking a couple of purple and blue dragons.  
  
"Rank no, you'll lose the fight, use your head, support the flank and stand your ground otherwise the dragons will continue to break point and…" I insisted but was cut off by his grumbling.  
  
"Look Raptor, your not even fighting, so leave this battle to the professionals and let me take these snakes down!"  
  
I gave up since none of the vanguard would listen to me because I was essentially a coward, all because I was to nervous to fight but my mind was still open to the situation occurring before my eyes.  
  
In a matter of minutes, Grooze and Serge were taken down by heavy missiles and remained on the ground, the smoke pouring from their burnt chasis's and remained silent in the battle. A red gear, seemingly the most skilled of the dragons circled Rank and broke his offensive down as he attacked him with missiles. Rank was useless when a missile in the back totally silenced the gear and it fell to the ground in a rumble.  
  
"Ooh! Looks like the vanguard are going down! Better luck next time dogs!" the announcer proclaimed across the speakers and I ignored the tremendous booing from the crowd.  
  
Before long, the barrier in front of Yoji and Wallace was rapidly pounded with missiles and soon broke down, leaving the two in open fire against the dragons who began to attack them with heavy fire. Unfortunately for me, the red gear came in contact with me and without hesitation, he fired two missiles at me, head on. For a moment my nervousness faded and instinctively I brought my tail up and easily swatted the missiles away from me, sending them crashing into a wall. For a moment I could see the red gear's amazement and he backed off, most likely calling for backup. A anticipated move.  
  
A massive blue gear, fires many rockets at me along with the red gear's missiles and it hits at the bottom of my feet, sending my gear flying backwards and over the arena's walls. I saw the walls and retracted my wrist blades while keeping a steady balance and caught the wall with one wrist blade. My gear jerked from the force and I could see that down below was many meters down to the city and I was glad that I had not fallen any further. I brought my other wrist blade up and pinned them into the wall and eventually climbed to the top of the wall and jumped back onto the ramp that I had been standing on for most of the arena battle. With a heavy thump, the announcer already proclaimed that the dragons had won and the crowd cheered loudly.  
  
I saw Wallace and Yoji climb out of their injured gears with unpleasant facial expressions walking up the ramp, eying me coldly as they approached past me. I was amazed that my gear hadn't been damaged at all from the missiles, but I felt ashamed and guilty for not helping my team mates. Each vanguard who walked past me looked up and only saw a coward in their eyes.  
  
"Why did you have to hold back Raptor, you think we did all that training for nothing!" Yoji yelled and angered, she walked briskly away.  
  
I turned my gear to move into the complex but the red gear named Marcus, came up to me personally.  
  
"Hey that's a amazing gear you got there, where did you get it and why didn't you attack us like your supposed to?" he asked.  
  
"It was handed to me by a friend of mine, and the reason why I didn't attack you was because I was nervous about fighting for the first time in a tournament since it's a lot different to fighting a war," I replied.  
  
"Yeah, I suppose, maybe you should try at least in tournament even if you are a vanguard," Marcus stated and walked off.  
  
I though about it for a moment, turned and walked steadily into the repair chamber, down a ramp where the other vanguard were sitting at a table waiting for their gears to repair in the repair chambers. The vanguard conversation revolved around their hatred of the dragons and of their loss. They didn't talk about me, thankfully.  
  
I ignored them and practiced my wrist blade movements for two hours until their gears had finally been repaired and there was greater moral in their policy of winning.  
  
Once everyone had been placed in their gears, we headed through a corridor and out through another ramp, which led to another arena, this one of course was different from before. It was divided by a canyon and joined by several firm metal bridges. On either side were fixed barriers and a flag. Ours was a yellow flag and on the other side was a red Shadow Dragons flag. It was a Capture the Flag match.  
  
"Ok vanguard listen up, Grooze and I will protect the flag, the rest of you choose your positions and Raptor you should be on the right wing, ok let's begin," Wallace stated and the announcer commenced the start of the match. We all moved down the ramp and headed towards our positions, the sound of fire-fights started immediately as the Dragons took their positions. I went to the right wing, which consisted of a bunch of boulders next to one of the bridges leading to the other side.  
  
As the battle commenced, I realised that Wallace knew that I was useless to the vanguard and had purposely placed me in a spot where no action occurred and I was saddened by this. But as time went by, the Dragons took the upper hand and had taken down Rank and Grooze, leaving Wallace to defend the flag, but after another heavy fire fight, Marcus and another gear put his gear out of action and because I was told to stay where I was, I couldn't help.  
  
Marcus took our yellow flag and I leaned against the boulder , knowing that it was all over since to win, you just had to cross the bridge with the flag. A couple of bridges on the left flank had been destroyed and he and his other gear mate had decided to venture across the bridge I was stationed at. Fortunately his scanners couldn't pick me up as I hid behind a large boulder and within minutes he and his friend came into view, jutting past me without knowing and could feel my fighting strength overwhelm me as the targeting cursor instantly overlapped Marcus and his friend.  
  
I hesitated for a few seconds and fired two missiles at their backs. It seemed like forever, watching the stream of the missile zoom at them at super speed and extremely accurate as well. It hit both of them, without warning, and both fell to the ground in a complete wreck since my missiles had not only destroyed their engine but had torn a lot of metal from their back and legs, leaving it scarred and blackened.  
  
"Whoa! Well, well it seems the new vanguard has just taken out Marcus and Zerve," the announcer exclaimed and for once the crowd began cheering for the vanguard and my name. I was overwhelmed with joy at my work and my confidence returned to me as I raced after the two trashed gears and thrust at the yellow flag, speeding back to the flag position. I saw Wallace climbing out of his gear, looking up at me with a pleased expression but also of surprise.  
  
"You just took down the best gear champion in the tournament, keep up the great work and get that flag for the vanguard!" he stated.  
  
I nodded, put the flag into position and with excitement I took both rifles from my metal thighs and held them at the other side. I also prepared for a full assault and to take as many gears out as possible as I was about to charge for the flag.  
  
"Serge, Yoji cover me, we are going to win!" I exclaimed and they did so as they fired missiles and gun fire in every direction.  
  
I immediately fired four rockets into a front Dragon barrier, taking out tow more Dragons in the process and raced across the bridge firing my assault rifle at the Dragons, injuring another with a grenade launcher. I dodged incoming missiles with little effort and placed the rifles back on my thighs and retracted my wrist blades and coiled my tail for action. I came into range of the Red Flag and standing in my way was the huge blue gear but this time I had no need to worry about size as we both prepared for close contact and with extreme agility and striking I slashed my blades into his chest and tripped him over with my tail, injuring his foot mechanism. With ample victory I grabbed hold of the Red Flag and raced past the blue giant and fired a missile into the other blue gear's chest knocking it over and permanently putting it out of action. With a bold movement I raced across the bridge, showing the flag high and proud with my tail and ventured into my territory.  
  
"The match is over with the vanguard in lead with fifty five points and the dragons with fifty," the announcer exclaimed and the crowd went wild with cheers for the vanguard and I didn't feel nervous at all.  
  
I approached the flag holder and placed the red flag into the slot and proceeded to the repair chamber where Yoji and Serge followed behind me down the ramp. The rest of the vanguard were sitting around the same table, looking happy as ever with their victory. I walked into the chamber and was cheered by them for my outstanding achievement.  
  
"Keep it up Raptor and we may win this tournament," Wallace stated.  
  
"Yes Sir," I replied and practiced my wrist blade actions until we were called up again.  
  
The vanguard got into their repaired gears and rolled out of the chamber and into the next arena, where two hover crafts were stationed, facing two lighted tunnels. I saw the dragons stepping into the crafts and we followed through, stepping up the ramp and touching the stable hover vehicle. At the front of the vehicle was a control interface, and Rank had taken that position to fly it although I had my doubts that he would perform well.  
  
The rest of the vanguard had suited up into the hovercraft and the side doors were closed, ready for the go a head. Rank switched the vehicle on and the craft lifted of the ground about five meters, and was easily felt by its unusual unbalance. I looked aside and saw the opposite hover craft holding the dragons in its hull.  
  
"For once dragons your going down!" Rank sneered through his comm. Link.  
  
"On the contrary we are going down," replied Sebatian, boldly.  
  
The announcer exclaimed the go ahead and the dragons started off with a short head start, but Wallace hit Rank on the back and he ignited the engine and with huge acceleration we breezed into the tunnels.  
  
"Ok vanguard, we have to win this at any cost," Wallace informed us.  
  
We continued to speed for several minutes and I switched a internal map of the tunnel system and it revealed that we were at tie with the dragons. I also took note of all the tunnel entrances, the routes and the best alternatives in case we got lost. We reached the end of the tunnel and entered a open canyon, to which the dragons beside us followed through and noticed us. With quick thinking and accurate targeting I fired a missile into the engine of their hover craft which caused their vehicle to tip and smash into a cliff wall. The dragons shouted and fell to the ground in a puff.  
  
Rank had turned to look at the damage I did and before anyone could thank me, our craft veered off course and slammed into a rock outcrop along a vertical wall. The impact, made Groonz fall off and smash into the ground, permanently damaging his gear and taking him out of the tournament. The rest of us kept our balance and the vehicle finally came to a stop on top of a rock catwalk. I pressed a button on the side of the craft, which opened the side doors and the remaining vanguard stepped out and inspected the vehicle's damage and our current position.  
  
"Where are we?" Wallace demanded.  
  
"Sir, we can take this catwalk here, which leads to a system of connecting pathways," I quickly explained pointing my finger at the huge tunnel near the catwalk. We noticed that the dragons had lost one of their gear mates and they also resumed a course to follow.  
  
"We must keep ahead of the dragons and try to ambush them at the next catwalk," Wallace stated and turned to Serge.  
  
"Track their moves and set traps at their nearest points," he instructed.  
  
"As you wish," Serge replied and began to move off.  
  
"Let's move out vanguard," Wallace said and we rolled out through the tunnel with the guidance of my superior navigation system. It took no time at all for me to guide my team through the seemingly complex system but the only problem was the interruptions from Yoji calling for a fast approach.  
  
It soon came clear to us when we reached the catwalk, that we realised that this is where the dragons would cross and added by the noted observation of their every whereabouts they were just behind us. At the far end of the catwalk was a cluster of boulders, which would act as a barrier to ambush the dragons when they were in the centre of the catwalk.  
  
"This catwalk looks oddly familiar," Wallace mentioned and Ignored it and rolled to the other end and took hold of one of my rifles.  
  
"We'll take the dragons out for good," I said enthusiastically.  
  
"Yeah!" Yoji agreed and rolled beside me, taking hold of her own gun and sneaking behind a boulder.  
  
Wallace and Rank followed shortly afterwards and took positions behind the boulders, while I took a boulder next to Yoji, since it had a clear view of the catwalk.  
  
The dragons signals were in range and I warned the others, "The dragons are here."  
  
We prepared ourselves, as their gears came into view, looking as if they were cautious about the environment around them, but they continued to walk across the catwalk and when they were just about to come in range Wallace made a bad judgement and attacked the dragons with rocket power and machine gun. Rank and Yoji supported him by firing missiles into them. The dragons retreated and no one had been hit since they hid behind their own barricade of rocks.  
  
I targeted the orange gear and fired missiles into its chest, smashing it into a wall and damaging its vital systems. I disrupted when the red gear called Rover fired several missiles near me, but they instead hit Yoji hard but not effective enough to take her down.  
  
The dragons retreated back into the tunnel, and I leant down to help Yoji fix her gear, but Rank was too enraged with the retreating dragons and stormed off without Wallace's permission.  
  
"Rank's gone off, we'll get Yoji fixed and then move out, in the meantime, I'll contact Serge," Wallace said as I continued to fix the mechanic parts for the gear to work again.  
  
After several minutes a huge explosion was heard and we were confused about the reason but according to my sensors, it was triggered off by a geuaser rift when Dirx and Rank fell on it causing them to rip through the ceiling and land on the surface damaged.  
  
"Well that's Rank gone," I said plainly and continued to work on Yoji's gear.  
  
The dragons had continued to push through the tunnel system with slow precaution but they were far ahead of us never a less. But after Serge had confronted them and put them under pile of rubble as he said, it made it a whole lot easier for us to advance. I had fixed Yoji's gear and we were rolling faster than a fleeing rabbit to the ladder, which led to the surface.  
  
On the way, alarm warnings were signalling that the dragons were ahead of us now because they took a short cut through a parallel tunnel vent heading directly to the stairs. I had not noticed this move and readjusted the situation to fit our needs. It seems Wallace knew also and he ordered us to roll faster towards the chamber.  
  
I brought out my rifle when we were ten meters in range, however, the dragons had taken defensive measures and were prepared for our arrival. As Yoji and Wallace came through the main entrance via the catwalk, I approached a stair case and ran up its crooked old rock floor. When I got at the top of the stair case I was on a balcony looking over the chamber which was naturally filled with boulder and rock formations, ideal for a tactical defence. There were some fixed light posts and in the centre of the chamber was a steel ladder, illuminated by the blue light from the surface.  
  
I saw Rover take down Serge with a brilliant missile blast to his chest, knocking him into a wall and falling over into dead silence. There were two other dragons stationed at the main entrance where Wallace and Yoji were entering but I saw Rover come up to the two and knock them down with his missiles, supported by the huge blue dragon who had more missile pods than I could believe. With Yoji and her gear defeated it was left to Wallace, and instead of interfering I stood and watched how Wallace would react to the fight. Rover fought Wallace with swords and after several blocks and hits, Rover had swung his sword into Wallace and his gear shut down immediately crashing to the ground.  
  
I fired my rifle in their direction hoping to catch their eye as they turned around and noticed me. I flipped off the balcony and landed with a perfect landing as several missiles went past me in mid air. I rolled behind a boulder cluster and the firing stopped.  
  
"Guys flank both sides, we'll take him out!"  
  
"Affirmative," said the dragon grel.  
  
I could hear their footsteps as they came from both sides and I decided I would attack the purple gear coming on my left. As the steps became more heavier, I coiled my tail in action and at the first glimse of the purple gear stepping around the corner I struck my tail blade into its side, tearing away its servo connector, and breaking its right leg straight from the rest of its body. Before I could even see the gear break apart and fall I stepped aside quickly as I sensed dozens of missiles coming from behind and the purple gear was hit directly by its comrade's own weaponry. I snapped my wrist blades and turned around tightly, just enough to see the hulking blue gear loom over me. I caught the gear in its chest, tearing its torso to shreds as it tweaked and fell down in two halves.  
  
Without hesitation I stepped from the boulder cluster, noticing that Rover was still  
  
standing away from it, looking ready for battle in his red gear.  
  
"What did you do?" he insisted.  
  
"They fell quite nicely," I responded and charged at him, arms wide and wrist blades stretched outward. As I came in range he tried to step aside but my agility enabled me to swing and stab into his right arm, ripping it into a useless ornament. I took no time to observe what damage I was doing, but I had a pretty good idea of its extent and confirmation.  
  
"Your going down Rover! Forever!" I sneered, but Rover backed away, fired a couple of missiles into my hide but I dodged them and raced towards him. I stopped immediately, facing him head on, and with a evil grin across my gear's face I stabbed my wrist blades into the gear's middle section, slicing through circuits, steel frame, thick armour and internal power cells, hearing every snap and metal snap apart. I thrust my tail into the wreckage and I began to tear outwards, breaking all with my might, every sound gave a passion for more destructive force and with a final thrust, I tore through the gear's side, breaking free from its thick armour. I had essentially tore its entire torso from its leg components. Sparks blew from the shredded parts and the torso section fell loudly to the ground with a crunch.  
  
Without hesitation, I stepped forward swinging the legs aside as far as my tail could thrust with its powerful momentum. I walked forward stepping onto the torso section with my talons, applied all my weight onto its chest and head and continued to walk through the rock ground towards the illuminated ladder. I turned my head slightly to speak to Rover.  
  
"It seems I am the victor let it be known in time that I will always win," I stated and continued walking until I reached the ladder.  
  
To me the ladder represented a way out and a symbol for all the hard work I have endured in performing my expertise. I retracted my blades into my wrists and held onto the ladder and began to climb up, feeling awfully giddy with myself for the cause of the battle. It took a few minutes for my gear to climb this artificial object but after a while, I made it to the top.  
  
It was a large metal tunnel leading to a arena platform, the blue surface shimmering in the sun's rays. I reached the top of the tunnel and pulled my gear onto the surface and walked through the large tunnel until I stepped onto the outer ridge of the tunnel, facing the arena. The crowd went wild with excitement, roaring away, and I held my arms up in glory.  
  
"Raptor has come out of the tunnels, leaving the Vanguard in victory of the entire tournament!" exclaimed the commentator.  
  
The crowd bellowed even more and I stepped into the arena and thrust with my fists, completing a well designed dance of victory compelling some fancy moves with my tail. I waved to the crowd and moved into the repair chamber, even though it didn't need repairing, I waited till I heard the familiar voices trail into the room.  
  
"Well done Raptor, the Vanguard has won this tournament, go have a rest you've earnt it," Wallace stated and patted me on the shoulder.  
  
Rank and the others came up to me and thanked me for winning the tournament.  
  
"You finally tought those snakes who's boss, now we'll never lose," Rank exclaimed.  
  
"Yeah, you punked them good, you even took out Rover with little effort, I'd say you'll become the next heavy gear champion by a long shot," Yoji contemplated and smiled.  
  
"How did you actually beat Rover?" Serge wondered, folding his arms across his chest.  
  
"I took him down the best way my tail and wrist blades could, strike from the centre, wreck havock and tear his torso to pieces," I replied with a grin.  
  
"Well done," Serge replied and walked off, feeling pleased that the vanguard had won the tournament. 


End file.
